Tire carrier



J. J. GRODEN Dec. 8, 1936.

TIRE CARRIER Filed Dec 27,` 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ITNESSES:

INVENTOR:

J. J. GRoDEN y TIRE CARRIER Daz. s; 13936;

\ Filed Dec. 27, L1934 2 sheets-Shasta WJTNLBSES.-

Patented Dec. 8, `1936 UNITED STATES PATENT TIRE CARRIER d Johnv(treden, Philadelphia, Pa. Application member z'z, 1934; serial No.759,333

i s claims. (ci. 2244291- This inventionrelates to tire carriers, andhas for an object to provide a new and improved carrier for automotivevehicles which will enclose the vvtir'e within the body of the vehiclein an improved manner. -4

A further object ci the invention is to provide a tire carrier in theshape of a drawer which is i manually movable into and out of acompartment formed therefor ina car body, and presents new and improvedfeaturesof convenience and stability of thetire. f 1;.

Afurther object of the invention is' to provide a tir'e carrier of thedrawer type which,A when withdrawn from the'vehicle, automaticallyloose.

ens the tire so that it may be removed fromthe carrier.

A further `objectlof the invention is to provide a tire carrier of thedrawer type having a compartment for containing the drawer, said:comparte ment having a closure which automatically locks the tireagainst vibration and conforms to the shape of the'body surrounding saidclosure.

' A further object of the invention is to provide a tire carrierincluding a compartment 'with a cradle'to be moved slidably into and outof said compartment, said cradle having means limiting the outwardmovement and providing fora downward swing of the outer end to aposition adjacent to the .ground and with improved means for wedging thecradle in rm position when the cradle and tire have been inserted intothe compartment.

Thel invention, therefore, comprises a compartment which ispreferably,though not necessarily, or essentially built into the body ofthe vehicle, and preferably, though not essentially, into the rear ofsaid body, said compartment having a closure corresponding in contour tothe parts of the body surrounding said closure and 40 within thecompartment a cradle mounted to slide in guideways provided by thecompartment, to be withdrawn to such extent as to entirely clear thecarried tire from obstruction and to automatically release the holdingmeans when the cradle has been withdrawn, with wedging means carriedpartly by the compartment and partly by the closure for wedging thecradle against vibration or movement within the compartment when theclosure is closed and to hold the tire firmly against movement relativeto the cradle by the same action.

The drawingslllustrate an embodiment of the invention and the viewstherein are as follows:

Figure l is a perspective View of the compartment separated from thevehicle body, shown in open positionj'withthe tire held at aninclination to provide ease .of removement, l

' 'Figure 2is a perspective view,l parts being broken away', showing thecradle which carries the tire enclosed within the compartment,V but with5 the tire removed and,with the closuregopened,

Fieiei is av lqngiiudinaisectiqnal vievqthroiign thef compartment 4andcradle, 4with the tire shown in'jdqttefd lines and thel closure'indotted lines, slliown'i'riI open positionhA A Y d: lo ''Figure 4`is aview inside elevationof a vehicle inbodying the present invention, withth'cradl'e vandtire withdrawnfrom the'bpdy infpfositi'on to beconvenient upon thecradle,

re 5'isf 'ew of7a vehicle"body"in rear ele- 15 vatio'rr sh wing thecradle Jwithdrawn with va applied thereto and the closure opened, and yl FigureG is a view of" avehiclebody Ain"'reai|.r elevation withv theclo'sure'clos'ed.'

The present invention is adapted to be'assoi- 20 elated with vehiclebodies of a' great varietyof types," and the body I0 asshowninthe'drawings is 4only by way of illustration? `A compartmentfisprovided within the bodyypreferably` in the rear, asV indicated atFigures 4, 5,'and 6, but not limited 25 thereto. A compartment I I isshown in the drawings -as being a lcomplete unit'adapted to beset intova vehicle body, but it is obvious that in use various parts of the bodystructure may be ein ployed, as 'parts of the compartment, without de-30 -parting yfrom the invention and the description of the compartmentas a unit, are not to be understood as any limitation.

When set into the body a closure I2 is hinged at I3, which hinging maybe directly onto parts 35 of the body structure or onto a frame I4 asmore particularly disclosed in the drawings. The compartment, whether asa unit or otherwise, will comprise 'a-'bottom wall I5, side walls I6 andI'I, a rear 'wall I8, and may or may not be provided 40 with atop wallI9, as found desirable. Along the side walls I6 and I1 slots 20 and 2|are formed, serving in guideways for pins or rollers 22 carried by thecradle, which will be hereinafter more fully described in detail. 45

For rigidity and lightness the cradle is preferably constructed ofstamped sheet metal, but it is to be understood, of course, that theinvention is not limited to that material or so formed. As soconstructed, however, it comprises a skeleton 50 bottom 23 with a bar 24in the same plane with the bottom 23. Side flanges 25 are bent'upwardl'yalong the parallel opposite sides, and whenso turned properly spaced forsliding fit'between the side walls I6 and Il of the compartment. 55

The .side wallsare provided with upwardly extending annular parts 26,the lower angular re- Adjacent to; {Een} germany' oate'r' ei 1`as;the:upturnedia'nges 25 are provided 'with 'inclined parts 3| and the closureI2 is provided 'with cacting wedging members 32 properly proportioned toengage against said inclined parts 3l and force the cradle intoengagement with the as shown more particularly at Figure 3L 1" Merelyfor strengthening purpf ises, ea,ch of.v the bars and parts of theskeleton structure lof the'cradle is turned to form narrow a'nges, as'

shownA at 33. LAdjacent also .to the: normally outer end of the cradle,handles 34 are provided. Mounted upon .the cradle, are a pair ofabutments 3.5properly v.curved yto t the perimeter 'ofthe I tire* 36 andbraced,orotherwisesecured in any approved manner.' as indi'cated at 31.

hinged as at 39. The baer wan Q|a1isjpgviuedwith-anadjustingsorewjdhaying ahead `4'I-for engagement withthe'hngedmember 38to force su'ch.r!1at .38,int. i erfefemerii .withithereximeie surfaceofthe tire..`l .Q i.. Il i Nuts `42 ,may .be'employed lock! nutsfor imaintaining thefadjustment. .The lc :losure 'I2 will be provided witha'. latch 43 whichfmaybe of thelocktype`asdesired, and is provided fur'-ther with a handle '44 .for .actuating the latch andthe closure,E

'1f-.It ..-Wi,1.1. ..be. .11. ted from the Several figures-thai. thisclosure I 2"is shown set at diierentangles relative tonthe` bottom I5 ofl.the compartment. This is merely illustrative of its coordin ation with.body parts surrounding the same and the severalangles orinclinationsare .to be understood purely as illustrative, and as no limitation. .Thetire carrierwill preferably b e built into the body of the vehicle whenthe body is constructed,

. but it .willbe understood that .whether so originally.built or laterapplied, it will set into the body preferably atthe rear, its entiremass being within the body and the closure I2 closing the openingtherefor into semblance to the surrounding parts of thebody.

When the ,tire lis to be removed the closure I2 is opened by themanipulation of the latch and the operator willmanually grasp thehandles 3 4 and draw theicradle outwardly. After `the upstandihgangular'part 26 has cleared the opening the inner angle 21 will providemeans whereby the cradle may drop downwardly to an inclination, as shownat Figures l and 4. The plate 38 which has h eretofore clamped the .tirehas now been released and the tire may simply be removed from the cradlewithout undoing straps, latchesA biociis 2'9. i

Simultaneously, the inclined sides128 of the' cradle will engage againstthe blocks 29 and when the wedgemembers 32 of the closure have engagedagainst the inclined sections 3| of the cradle and the door latched, allwill be held against vibration or noise.

The invention, therefore, has its appealing features in elimination ofany possible noise from its use, its maintaining the tire surbstantiallyin the dark and away from air and light, and furthermore, ofautomatically releasing the tire for instant'removali'when `the cradle.carrying the tire has been Withdrawn from the compartment.

Of course, the tire carrier illustrated may be modified and changed invarious ways without departing from the invention herein set forth andhereinafter claimed.

vI claim:-

1. A tire carrier Vcomprising a compartment having guideways along thesides thereof, a cradle having parts coacting with the-guideways toprovide for the cradle moving wholly within the compartment and whollywithout the compartment,"a.closure for the compartment', and wedgf ingmembers carried by the compartment and closure for Wedging thecradle'within the/compartment. 2. A tire carrier comprising'acompartment having guidewaysfalongits opposite -s`idesa cra# dle havingmeans cooperating with -s aid'guideways' to provide vforjrelativemovement between thev compartmentand cradle, a closure' forl v thecompartment,y said cradle embodying upturned side' members, parts ofwhich are formed asinc linations, blocks positioned within thecompartment for engaging the inclined parts, and means carried by theclosure for forcing the cradle into 'X 4. lA tire carrier comprising a.compartment having guideways alongr its opposite sides, a cradle havingupturned flanges along its opposite sides adapted to move adjacent tothe guideways, means providing for relative sliding movement between thecompartment and cradle and which means is carried by said upturned sidescooperating with the guideways, said upturned sides having downwardlyinclined sections, abutments formed upon the cradle properly contouredto engage the perimeter of the tire, a platecontoured to engage the tirehinged upon the cradle, means carried by the compartment to engage saidhinged plate to clamp said plate against ,the tire, means carried by thecompartment for engaging some of said inclined sections of the sideflanges, aoclosure for the compartment, and wedge members carried by theclosure proportioned to engage others of said inclined sections to locksaid cradle rigidly within the compartment'and the 'tire rigidly withinthe cradle.

5. A tire carrier comprising a compartment, a cradle mounted to slidewithin and without the compartment, said cradle comprising upturned sideparts, said side parts being .provided with angular recesses in theirunder sides, said recesses being positioned to provide for downwardlyinclined swinging action of the cradle when moved without thecompartment, and means exerting compression on th cradle to lock thecradle rigidly within the compartment.

6. A tire carrier comprising a compartment, a cradle movable within andWithout the compartment, and means to support a tire upon the cradleincluding cooperating parts on the compartment and cradle, respectively,the part of said means on the cradle automatically releasing the tirewhen the cradle is withdrawn.

'7. A tire carrier comprising a compartment, a cradle movable slidablyinto and out of said compartment, and means carried by the cradlecooperating with a member on the wall of the compartment forautomatically clamping the tire when said cradle is inserted in saidcompartment, and releasing the tire when said cradle is withdrawn fromsaid compartment'.

8. A tire carrier comprising a compartment having guideways along thesides thereof, a cradle having means engaging and operating inconjunction with said guideways to provide a sliding connection betweenthe compartment and cradle, means carried by the cradle cooperating withthe wall of the compartment to clamp a tire when said cradle is insertedin said compartment and release the tire when said cradle is withdrawnfrom said compartment.

JOHN J. GRODEN.

